British Imperial News Network
History The British Imperial News Network (commonly referred to as BINN) was formed in 2039 following the renationalization of the former BBC entertainment network. Following the reformation of the British Empire in the wake of the Petroleum wars, the British government determined that a national news service was now a major priority of the reformed constitution - and in particular given the vast impact of news services and propaganda had during the previous conflict. Following the BBC's public owners decision to actively speak against British, European and NATO policy, and due to its existing infrastructure, the British Government forcibly renationalized the institution, reforming it into the newly christened British Imperial News Network. This new institution made extensive efforts to hark back to previously perceived 'glory' periods of British history, presenting itself as a smart, formal and yet friendly service that intended to inform the populace of the comings and goings of the Empire and the world around it. Its first test came during the Martian colonial conflicts in 2046-47, where British policy was at best tenuously legal and at worst bordered on war crimes. Non national media fronts, such as social media and independent ethernet news services posed a major obstacle to swaying public opinion. In order to combat these threats, the BINN actively engaged in a policy of sabotaging rival news sites, either directly, or by feeding false news stories that were allowed to run rampant before being publically and dramatically disproven by the BINN. By discrediting many of their rivals and continually overwhelming any others, the BINN was able to sway public opinion of the British involvement in the Martian conflict to one of almost unanimous support. This was cemented firmly following the Chinese atrocity at the St James Colonial wayport station on Deimos, which directly involved a BINN news team who was able to not only find means to broadcast live from the situation, but to remain calm enough to do so in the formal manner exemplified by the BINNs standard reports. This portrayal of accurate news reporting and British 'Stiff upper lippedness' from the heart of a genuine catastrophe created a surge of public support that all but guaranteed trust and loyalty for the fledgling network. The subsequent Sedis 9 disaster of 2056 and the outbreaks of those affected by the toxin created a new opportunity for the Network, which became the primary source of news for many within the British state during the initial crisis and the dangers that followed. Purpose In truth, the BINN is little more than a propaganda engine for the British government - filtering all information through the lens of British Governmental agenda and presenting it in a manner that is calculated to garner the appropriate responses from the British public. Despite its somewhat clear agenda, the BINN receives such dramatic funding that it is able to simply drown out any dissenting voices. It repeatedly described itself as the voice to trust - and the character known as 'Mrs Brown' was formulated to create an 'everyman' figure with which the British public could associate and to whom the presenters at the BINN could act as a mentor figure. By simple measure of repetition and this appeal to classical patriotic values and eras the BINN was able to cement itself in the public perception as a reliable media source, and particularly among the older generations. Though never confirmed, there are persistent rumours of subliminal messaging, hypnotic tones and images and journalistic misconduct. Such accusations are often completely unreported outside of social networks and regularly removed under threat of legal action. Kirton Walsh Kirton Walsh is the principle anchorman of the British Imperial News Network - lauded as a national treasure and a mentor to the British Public. Formerly a city banker, the reporter was one of the original members of the BINN news team and has become the public face and spokesman not merely of the broadcasts but of the Network itself. Mrs Brown Though never confirmed, the character known as Mrs Brown is presumed to be merely a stand in for the British public as a whole and is frequently mentioned in both news reports and information broadcasts. Her appearances in broadcasts are presented almost as often, however despite this there is no public record of who the actress playing her is. STOCKADE reports of the BINN have uncovered no indication that her appearance is even in any of the BINN news or informative broadcasts and BINN employees appear to have little idea who she is, even those who mention her directly. Precisely who she is and the purpose for her appearances in BINN broadcasts is uncertain, as is the nature of the peculiar manner that those who have uttered her name are unaware of having done so. Further investigation into the matter by STOCKADE personnel has been frequently cancelled for reason of being 'low priority'.